Sunday, April 5, 2009

March Movie Madness 2009 - Semifinal Champs

Here it is, folks: Your top actor and actress, who will compete against each other for the March Movie Madness 2009 Crown.

In the first game we had the original Method Man, whose deliveries of "Hey, Stella!" and "I shoulda been a contenduh" have become two of the most imitated lines in film history, Marlon Brando, vs. the man who drinks your milkshake, asks you to stay alive no matter what occurs, taps his glass eye with the point of a knife, does amazing things with his left foot and does everything in the name of the father, Daniel Day-Lewis. And the winner is...

And Stephanie makes a huge push, picking both final actors correctly for the maximum 16 points in that round, while the Brad train, having enjoyed the lead spot throughout the entire tournament, comes to a screeching halt because his final picks were Marlon Brando vs. Cate Blanchett. That said, Stephanie hasn't been crowned yet -- this tournament will come down to the final shot!

On a side note, I did want to take this opportunity to point out that THE MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS ARE PLAYING FOR THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TOMORROW NIGHT! Unless you have some twisted allegiance to the University of North Carolina, ROOT FOR MSU!

I now return you to your regularly scheduled Movie Madness. The final results will be posted tomorrow.

22 comments:

I didn't have Brando for my final man, but this result still shocks me. That's just grotesque. DDL made maybe two good films (Launderette and TULOB) before he became a ridiculous Punch and Judy puppet of a caricature of an overactor. He hasn't played a recognisable human being since. Come on, people. Acting is supposed, as Hamlet said, "to hold the mirror up to nature". This is a man beside whom the Muppets look low-key. Is everyone else in this game 14 years old? Have they forgotten who Marlon Brando was?

While my personal pick would have been Brando, I couldn't disagree more with your assessment of DDL. I hold his performance as Bill "The Butcher" Cutting up as one of the most remarkable and enthralling acting jobs ever to be on screen. Has he had moments of "overacting"? Absolutely. But Pacino has been overacting for 30 years and some folks had him winning the whole thing. And regarding the Hamlet quote, thank god actors through the ages have not limited themselves to that definition or else we'd all have gotten bored to tears and abandoned film long ago. Acting is supposed to entertain. That's it. Sometimes it does so by being so real you feel you're in the backseat with Brando and Malden, and other times it does so by being so utterly ridiculous you laugh so hard you cry at the thought of the People's Republic of Judaea scoffing at the Judaean People's Republic. That's why I became an actor, and why I can appreciate the brilliance of Brando, Pacino, Newman, Hoffman, DeNiro, Bogart, Day-Lewis, and every other actor in this tournament.

If acting were only entertainment we'd have been choosing between Adam Sandler and Austin Powers, whatever his name is. I don't believe you're really dismissing it as glibly as that. I also don't believe you really think Pacino has been overacting for 30 years.

But the main point to me made here is Steiger. It was Rod Steiger in the back seat with Brando. Karl Malden was the priest.

No, I meant Malden. He was in the back seat too, he was just crouching really low. Okay maybe not.

Absolutely Pacino has been overacting for 30 years. Not every film, not every moment, but hell yes. I love Scarface like nobody's business, but Tony Montana was F'ING HUGE, and I'm not talking about his weight. Contrast that to Sonny Wortzik or Frank Serpico -- my two favorite Pacino roles right ahead of Michael C -- and it's no contest. Scent of a Woman, Carlito's Way, Devil's Advocate, The Recruit... Again, don't get me wrong, you know I love Pacino and consider him to be one of the all-time greats. But dude, he only acts half the time these days.

I'm curious which DDL movies you guys have actually seen? Because if you're telling me you don't think he can act after Gangs of New York, There Will Be Blood, Unbearable Lightness, In the Name of the Father and My Left Foot -- five characters that could not have been more different from ech other -- then my faith in your ability to recognize a gifted actor has been severely shaken. At least Nancy admitted to having only seen Last of the Mohicans, which is to Daniel Day-Lewis as Scent of a Woman is to Al Pacino.

I feel like I just got shot. Man, I never thought DDL would beat out Brando. I'm not necessarily surprised that Blanchett wasn't in the final two (although she deserves to be there in my opinion), but Brando made acting what it is today for other actors like DDL. I think too many people only know about Brando's eccentricities and haven't really watched his work. He's like Alec Guinness (where was he by the way), and stuck in his 'Obi Wan' role but as the Godfather.

Jeff, there's only one of those films where he plays a recognisable human character. The rest is Grand Guignol. I've already conceded Unbearable Lightness and My Beautiful Launderette. That's up against Brando's whole body of work, not Pacino's.

Once again, I'll remind all y'all that Brando would have been my pick to win it all. So I'm not arguing for Day-Lewis over Brando. But I am telling you that Day-Lewis is a hell of an actor, and yes, his portrayal of Bill Cutting in Gangs of New York was brilliant. Plain and simple.

I have to say I thought there'd be more discussion this year than there has been. I'm sure part of it stems from the fact that as the tournament moves on, people's chances of winning wane and disappear. But still, I'm bummed at the relative lack of discourse. Don't get me wrong, bantering with Alan over the merits of DDL is fun as hell, but it's pretty lonely in here, really. This year I opened up the tournament to more people -- some Facebook peeps, some work peeps -- which resulted in a record number of entries at 30 but few of them really participated (exceptions being Paula O, Michelle, JRo and Robin) in discussions. This post had a great comment thread, but the rest just never lived up to my expectations. Bummer.

Oh well, at least some of you MMM veterans did your best to keep it interesting. FWIW, Grapes, you and I would probably agree on about 95% of the actors and actresses throughout history, so don't feel bad if you're wrong on DDL.

Okay, I have to tell you all that I just made it 22 minutes and 40 seconds into Righteous Kill, starring Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino, and I had to turn it off. Seriously, guys? I know you're not the actors you once were, but this is the movie you chose to act in together (the wonderful diner scene in Heat notwithstanding)? Absolute horseshit.

jefe- I couldn't even bring myself to see Righteous Kill, and you just convinced me I made the right decision. I think for me, this competition just never seemed fair once I realized that Cuba Gooding, jr. was not in the running. :)

I like Lewis, but I don't think he even comes close to Brando or DeNiro...and has he ever done comedy? Robert D. has proven himself in that genre! (Midnight Run, Analyze This) I think DeNiro in "Cape Fear" is on par with DDL in most anything. (I loved him in "My Left Foot," though.)